Currently, guns use energy. Specifically, they use player energy, the same resource used by the player to perform various actions, use Tech abilities, etc. However, if we look at the idea of ammo for our guns, it starts to look less then fun after too long since we would have to worry about crafting the stuff, carrying enough of it around, etc. Which is why this suggestion won't bother with that for the most part. We don't need any of this over-complex whatnot to have a nice fun-to-use weapon. To get a feel for what I want to suggest, lets just start with the basics. Every gun (and perhaps some melee weapons too) would have some special stats which basically take the place of the energy bar. When you have one selected, another bar representing that weapon's "ammo" would be under your energy bar, and it would also show up the same way a durability bar does for a mining pick. These are the new stats weapons would have (in addition to damage and rate of fire stuff they already have). Ammo/Shots/Weapon Energy: This stat is how many shots the weapon has left, out of its maximum number of shots. A gun with 7 shots would be able to be fired 7 times, if it had no way to recharge (almost all weapons would have a way to recharge, see below). Recharge: This stat is the rate of recharge, as well as the CONDITIONS required to recharge. Some weapons for instance would have this set as "Full" with the condition of "Beam to ship/use Ammo Locker." Which means they only refill when you beam to your ship, or when you use an "Ammo Locker" item placed on the map. Regardless, Refilling ammo is either free or costs a small number of pixels, and does NOT require any sort of crafting to perform (aside from making an Ammo Locker, perhaps). It would effecively mean though that some guns have limited ammo on a mission. -Weapons which physical ammo such as bullets or rockets will usually have higher numbers of shots, but will also usually only recharge on beam-to-ship OR making use of an Ammo Locker. -Weapons which fire some form of energy/blaster bolt/etc will usually have a regen of X per second (usually a rate lower than the number of shots the weapon can fire per second, and sometimes MUCH lower). Some may also have special conditions for when this regen occurs (i.e. 2+ seconds after last time fired). Heck there could even be a weird solar gun somewhere that only recharges when on a planet's surface during the day. These weapons would typically have fewer total shots, because they regenerate them without hassle. -There could naturally be some unusual mix-up weapons too, such as an energy weapon which requires a locker/beam-to-ship to recharge. Or a gun which restores a little ammo each time you pick up an enemy's pixel loot drop (in-context, a gun with a tiny automated on-board ammo factory). -The system could also be applied to some melee weapons too. For instance, a sword which recharges its special ability "ammo" a set amount each time you kill something with the sword. -Weapons with X-per-second recharge rates will only recharge as long as they are on your bar. So weapons with slow recharge rates can be used, then left to recharge over time while you use a different one. Heat and cooling rate: Some weapons would produce "heat" that builds towards filling a heat bar (this mechanic would ONLY be present on weapons which specifically have the Heat and Cooling Rate stats). If you overheat, you cannot fire until it is completely cooled down, and the rate of cooling is halved until it does so. The cooling rate is, of course, how fast the heat bar depletes. Number of clips, reload time: These stats would only appear on some weapons (generally, only those that require a locker or beam-to-ship to reload). On a weapon which does have this stat, the number of shots is now effectively the clip size. The number of clips is of course how many clips of ammo you have left. The reload time is how long it takes to reload the weapon, which reduces the number of clips the weapon has by 1 and refills the ammo. Ammo/Energy per Shot: A stat which could optionally be present for energy-based weapons. Potentially useful for balance if, for instance, there is ever equipment/Tech abilities which provide a set bonus to a currently selected weapon's energy recharge rate. But otherwise, is perhaps a needless complication. Other: Rarely, there could be weapons you find which cannot be recharged/reloaded by any means after using up all their shots (at which point they "break" like a pick axe would). These would generally be more powerful then other weapons you could find/make at that point in the game. It is worth noting that all these stats are weapon-specific. Meaning weapons do not share ammo with each other (if you want more rockets to take with you on a mission, you need to simply bring more rocket launchers).
Guns are pretty much set in stone at this point. They have said they don't want to go with "ammo" of any kind. The current system works fine, really. Firing weapons is really the only consistant drain on your energy since techs no longer drain energy outside of an initial usage cost.
It is for the energy I do not like the local firearms. Primitive and simplified solution. The only decent weapons are throwing weapons.
Just assume the weapons function on a similar principal as Mass effect weapons. They are physical projectile weapons, but almost never need reloading because it only fires a tiny sliver of metal that is accelerated down the barrel. Basically like rail guns, or gauss guns depending on how you look at it. Keep that in mind and boom, the need for magazines or ammo is eliminated.
Make sense, but again, i wanted ranged weapon to have actual effectivity to kill enemies quickly. If weapons requires actual resource to fire, then i the balance, the weapon also needed to have higher and more stable damage Let's say that since weapon damage in starbound uses fallout logic, whereas guns damage increase with your stats (that doesn't make any sense right?) How about that the ammunition does the damage and status effect and the guns decide the velocity, firing rate, and damage multiplier. That way lesser guns like rifles and handgun can be more preferable, whereas missile launcher's require heavier resource (gunpowder and etc).
Given Fallout is an RPG, increasing damage with skill does make sense. It is representative of proficiency. If you can use a weapon more effectively, does that not make you deadlier with it? Weapons in starbound already kill creatures quite quickly. Too quickly to be honest. The current system makes more sense in a sci-fi universe than having black powder based ballistic ammo. In their current state, they are effectively all forms of magnetic acceleration weapons, which perfectly fits and explains why they use energy and don't need to be reloaded. A small projectile going fast enough can provide ample force for penetration and stopping power.
